The NIV 2011 is here!

Laridian has released the 2011 edition of the New International Version (NIV) Bible. This new edition is the first update to the best-selling NIV Bible in 25 years. While this update reflects developments in biblical scholarship and changes in English usage, about 95% of the text has remained the same. For details on the reasons and the people behind the update, visit the official site of the Committee on Bible Translation (the scholars responsible for overseeing the NIV text).

The PocketBible version of the NIV 2011 is available for iPhone/iPad/iPod touch, webOS, Android, Windows PC and Windows Mobile. The updated NIV is available at a new lower price of only $9.99.

25 Responses

I went to the website this morning looking to buy previous edition. It was there. When I got off work tonight and came home to buy it it was gone. Is there any way to still get it? If not does the NIV notes that you sell line up with this new version?

Donald, I’m sorry but we are not able to offer the 1984 edition now that the 2011 is released. As the article mentions, 95% of the text remains the same as the previous edition so you shouldn’t have a problem using the notes with this updated NIV.

The NIV Study Bible for PocketBible was done by Zondervan, not by us. It will be updated as an updated version of the text becomes available. Zondervan has said it will take at least a couple years to revise all of their reference materials.

And to clarify, the NIV Study Bible Notes are not included with the NIV. They are sold separately.

The NIV 2011 does not overwrite your NIV 1984. They can both be installed at the same time. They might be hard to distinguish from each other, since they’re both called “New International Version”.

The $9.99 price is the suggested retail price from Zondervan. Anyone charging more than that is… well… I won’t say bad things about them (cough)OliveTree(cough) (cough)Logos(cough) as we reserve the right to raise the price in the future.

LL, the best way to distinguish the two different NIV’s (there are only two editions of the NIV, 1984 and 2011) is looking at the copyright date in the front matter of the book. The NIV 2011 does have two editions – one with cross-references and one without. The one with cross-references is larger.

Andrew,
2011 appears to work with Android (alpha) except for xrefs. (simply as a bible reader at this time).

Michelle,
If you are no longer allowed to market 1984; are the terms we agreed to when we installed that version still binding? i.e. could someone share a 1984 version with someone like Donald who procrastinated a bit too long? (I have been known to wait a long time to make a purchase decision and wondered if there was some way to help out legally.)

You are definitely NOT allowed to share your 1984 version with someone else. Just because we can no longer sell it doesn’t mean the copyright is expired.

The problem with the naming of the NIV and the NIV Cross Reference Edition is a little tricky. The abbreviation has to be “NIV” for both or else Bible references won’t work right and won’t look right in any output from the program (and technically, wouldn’t be “legal”). The name could theoretically be different but that doesn’t fix your problem of not knowing which is which solely by the tags.

We may do something about this in the future. One of the annoyances is that it’s the only Bible for which this is a problem so it’s a shame to create some huge capability for renaming tabs or adding “subtitles” to books just for this one book. I need to think about the right way to solve it.

I’m not surprised about the copyright issue but I wanted somebody to say it.

I understand part of what you said about the naming. We have this on the burner. When we take a better look (later) at tab/name/description manipulation, it may not be just for one book but for visual clarity in multiple window layouts as well.

I don’t know about anyone else but android is more important to me right now than this naming issue. So, I’ll shut up and let you work.

I’m looking forward to Beta ( or alpha 2 if needed). I am using alpha for almost all my bible reading needs now. (both EVO 4G and Acer Iconia tablet.)

Just got it, glad to have it on my iphone now. I want to just second the request to be able to differentiate between the versions. I still want the Old NIV on there as that is what is often used in church, etc, and i can’t tell the difference in the list. Thanks for the great product.

Why release this for an “Alpha” version of Android? In the first place, I personally would have never released such a severely feature crippled version of this very reputable product name. Seems more transparent to say upfront that you only care about your iOS base right now and Android out of luck with this “business” for now.

I’m not sure whether to apologize for caring enough about our Android customers that we chose to make the NIV 2011 available for them, or to apologize for not caring enough about Android to have a full featured program out sooner. You seem to find everything we do offensive, whether it’s pro-Android or anti-Android.

I feel like we’ve made our situation here abundantly clear. There are two of us here (me and Jeff) writing code. Jeff has been mostly working on iPhone though over the last 12 months his cancer treatments have slowed him down a bit. I have been mostly working on Android, but as the president of a very small software company I have to do everything from program the website to renting office space to managing our payroll and 401(k) providers. As a gesture of appreciation to our customers who have been patiently waiting for an Android app, I agreed to release a version that you and I both agree is far from ideal. But it allowed our customers to get some use out of their investment in Laridian Bibles over the years.

So I’m sorry about being either too enthusiastic or not enthusiastic enough about Android. When you figure out which you want me to be, let me know and I’ll send you a proper apology.

NIV Naming Conventions —
At least on PB4 Windows Mobile and for Windows Desktop, the older NIV is listed in the books list as “The Holy Bible: New International Version.” The 2011 version is listed simply as “New International Version.” The file name for the 1984 version is NIV.lbk. The 2011 version is NIV2011.lbk or NIV2011XR.lbk for the cross reference version.

You can have both versions open at the same time. I noticed that the section headings within the chapters are often different. 1984 – Mark 2 – Jesus Heals a Paralytic. 2011 – Mark 2 – Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic.

In the 2011 version, the references in the Gospels to similar passages in other Gospels are not enabled. Craig is aware of that.

Also, in the 1984 version, the book/chapter headings are centered, while in the 2011 version, the bnook/chapter headings are left justified.

One text difference I noticed so far — Mark 1:4:

1984 – And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

2011 – And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

In Mark 2, the 1984 version refers to the “paralyzed man.” in the 2011 version, he is called “a paralytic.”

My ID 1014214. I already had NIV versoin 1984 for my iPhone 4. And I have also bought NIV version 2011 too. My ploblem are:
I am very confuse when I use these two version, because of the same version name (NIV) SO I suggest that “NIV” for version 2011 and “NIV 1984″ for version 1984

The Categories file name in the Pocket Bible program for the vesion 1984 is “NIV The Holy Bible: New International Version” and for the version 2011 is “NIV New International Version Cross-Reference Edition”. Why not begin with The Holy Bible as the Old version?